List of National Treasures of Japan (shrines)
The number of Shinto shrines in Japan today has been estimated at more than 150,000. Single structure shrines are the most common. Shrine buildings might also include oratories (in front of main sanctuary), purification halls, offering halls called heiden (between honden and haiden), dance halls, stone or metal lanterns, fences or walls, torii and other structures. The term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897. The definition and the criteria have changed since the inception of the term. The shrine structures in this list were designated national treasures when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was implemented on June 9, 1951. As such they are eligible for government grants for repairs, maintenance and the installation of fire-prevention facilities and other disaster prevention systems. Owners are required to announce any changes to the National Treasures such as damage or loss and need to obtain a permit for transfer of ownership or intended repairs. The items are selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology based on their "especially high historical or artistic value". This list presents 37 entries of national treasure shrine structures from 12th-century Classical Heian period to the early modern 19th-century Edo period. In fact the number of structures listed is more than 37, because in some cases groups of related structures are combined to form a single entry. The structures include main halls (honden), oratories (haiden), gates, offering halls (heiden), purification halls (haraedono) and other structures associated with shrines. , 2. Stone stairs, 3. Sandō, 4. [[:w:Chōzuya|''Chōzuya or Temizuya]], 5. Tōrō, 6. Kagura-den (building dedicated to Noh or the sacred Kagura dance), 7. Shamusho (administration office), 8. Ema, 9. Sessha/Massha, 10. Komainu, 11. Haiden, 12. Tamagaki, 13. Honden]] The practice of marking sacred areas began in Japan as early as the Yayoi period (from about 500 BC to 300 AD) originating from primal religious beliefs. Features in the landscape such as rocks, waterfalls, islands, and especially mountains, were places believed to be capable of attracting kami, and subsequently were worshiped as yorishiro. Originally, sacred places may have been simply marked with a surrounding fence and an entrance gate or torii. Later, temporary structures similar to present day portable shrines were constructed to welcome the gods to the sacred place, which eventually evolved into permanent buildings that were dedicated to the gods. Ancient shrines were constructed according to the style of dwellings (Izumo Taisha) or storehouses (Ise Grand Shrine). The buildings had gabled roofs, raised floors, plank walls, and were thatched with reed or covered with hinoki cypress bark. Such early shrines did not include a space for worship. Three important forms of ancient shrine architectural styles exist: taisha-zukuri, shinmei-zukuri and sumiyoshi-zukuri. They are exemplified by Izumo Taisha, Nishina Shinmei Shrine and Sumiyoshi Taisha, respectively, and date from before 552 AD. According to the tradition of , the buildings or shrines were faithfully rebuilt at regular intervals adhering to the original design. In this manner, ancient styles have been replicated through the centuries to the present day.Presently only the Ise Grand Shrine is rebuilt every 20 years. Beginning in the mid-6th century, as Buddhism was brought to Japan from Baekje, new styles of shrine architecture were introduced; today's Shinto shrine blueprint is of Buddhist origin. The concept of temples as a place of assembly was applied to shrines. Spaces for worship were added in the form of extended roofs or worship halls (haiden) in addition to the main hall (honden). The following stylistic elements of Buddhist temple architecture were assimilated and applied to Japanese shrines: column-base stones,Before wooden columns were placed directly in the ground. brackets, curved roofs, painted surfaces, metal ornaments, corridors and pagodas. At the end of the 8th century as architectural styles evolved, new elements were added as is evident in ''kasuga-zukuri (Kasuga Shrine and Hakusandō/Kasugadō at Enjō-ji), the flowing roof or nagare-zukuri (Shimogamo Shrine), hachiman-zukuri (Usa Shrine) and hiyoshi-zukuri (Hiyoshi Taisha). The nagare-zukuri continues to be the more popular style, followed by the kasuga-zukuri. The honden of Ujigami Shrine dates to this period. At the end of the Heian period torii and fences were commonly replaced with two-storied gates and grand colonnades copied from temple architecture. The influence of the residential shinden-zukuri style of palaces and mansions is apparent in shrines such as Itsukushima Shrine. The auxiliary Marōdo Shrine at Itsukushima Shrine originates from the 13th-century Kamakura period, and the honden and haiden of the Kibitsu Shrine date from the 15th-century Muromachi period. In the late 16th century and early 17th century, during the Momoyama period, gongen-zukuri was introduced as a new plan of building shrines. The main hall was joined to the oratory via a connecting structure called the ai-no-ma, derived from the hachiman-zukuri style. Examples of gongen-zukuri are the honden at Kitano Tenman-gū and Ōsaki Hachiman Shrine. Tōshō-gū dates from the Edo period and was completed in 1636. It is a complex assembly of richly adorned shrines, temples and a mausoleum. Such complexes are a result of the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism which began to appear during the Heian period; Kitano Tenman-gū, built in 947 for the spirit of Sugawara no Michizane, was the first of these byō or jingū-ji. Statistics The 37 entries in the list consist of the following: main halls (honden), combined structures of honden, haiden with or without an ai-no-ma or heiden in between, oratories (haiden), offering halls (heiden), corridors, gates, fences, purification halls and other halls that are related to a shrine. Usage The table's columns (except for Remarks and Images) are sortable pressing the arrow symbols. *''Name'': name of the structure as registered in the Database of National Cultural Properties *''Shrine'': name of the shrine in which the structure is located *''Remarks'': architecture and general remarks including ::*size measured in ken, or distance between pillars; "m''×''n" denotes the length (m'') and width (''n) of the structure, each measured in ken ::*architectural style (zukuri) and type of roofing ::*existence of bargeboards, forked roof finials (chigi), step canopies, etc *''Date'': period and year of the last major reconstruction; The column entries sort by year. If only a period is known, they sort by the start year of that period. *''Location'': "town-name prefecture-name"; The column entries sort as "prefecture-name town-name". *''Images'': picture of the structure; If the image shows more than one structure, the respective structure is indicated by a blue rectangle. Treasures } (also spelled 圓成寺) | two identical structures, each: 1×1, kasuga style with hinoki cypress bark shingles, together these are the oldest extant structures in the kasuga style | |Nara NaraNara, Nara | |- | The hall, 43 pieces of ancient lumber and one ridge tag with information on the building's construction are attached to the nomination. | ( ) | 1×2, single-storied, with a flowing roof covered with hinoki cypress bark shingles | |Tottori MisasaMisasa, Tottori | |- | The nomination includes the inner shrine (内殿) and one ridge tag with information on the building's construction. | Izumo Taisha | 2×2, taisha style with hinoki cypress bark shingles; and high (originally ), slightly curved roof, three ridge billets, believed to have been the house of Ōkuninushi | |Shimane TaishaTaisha, Shimane | |- | The nomination includes an inner shrine and an ancient pillar called . | | 2×2, taisha style |group="ex"|name="taisha-zukuri-expl"}} with tochibuki board roofing thick and long boards are split and laid down with considerable overlap. |group="ex"|name="tochibuki-expl"}} | |Shimane MatsueMatsue, Shimane | |- | and The nomination includes two ridge tags with information on the building's construction. | | Honden: 5 ken long (7 on the back), 8 ken wide, hiyoku irimoya style |group="ex"|name="hiyoku-irimoya-zukuri-expl"}} Haiden: 3×1, kirizuma style, connected to the rear of the honden roof, pent roof on three sides covered with hongawarabuki roofing Both structures are single-storied and covered with hinoki cypress bark shingles. At , the largest shrine structure in Japan | |Okayama OkayamaOkayama | |- | main shrine: , , The National Treasure structures of Itsukushima Shrine are interconnected and registered as a single National Treasure under one registration number. Only in the main treasure table of this article, the single entry is split in parts for readability.The nomination includes the fence around the shrine and the left and right Naishi-bashi (内待橋), which are the bridges passed by women serving at the court (naishi) on their way to offer food for the gods. | Itsukushima Shrine | Honden: 8×4 (9 ken wide at back), ryōnagare style |group="ex"|name="ryounagare-zukuri-expl"}} Heiden: 1×1, ryōsage style Haiden: 10×3, irimoya style with gables clinging to either end All three structures are connected via the heiden, single-storied and have hinoki cypress bark roofing. The shrine is a World Heritage Site. | |Hiroshima HatsukaichiHatsukaichi, Hiroshima | |- | main shrine: The nomination includes: *four ridge tags with information on the building's construction, *the in front of the haraedono which is used for bugaku dance performances, *the in front of the main shrine, *the left and right located in front of the main shrine to either side of the hitasaki front lantern. The gate guards, }} and are enshrined in them, *the left and right gagaku dance music halls in front of the main shrine, one for each type of gagaku dance: "left dance" from India and the Tang Dynasty, "right dance" from China and Korea. | Itsukushima Shrine | 6×3, single-storied, irimoya style, entrance in the gable ends, rear of roof is connected, hinoki cypress bark shingles. The shrine is a World Heritage Site. | |Hiroshima HatsukaichiHatsukaichi, Hiroshima | |- | auxiliary : , , The nomination includes the fence around the shrine. | Itsukushima Shrine | Honden: 5×4, ryōnagare style Heiden: 1×1, ryōsage style Haiden: 9×3, kirizuma style All three structures are single-storied and have hinoki cypress bark shingles. The shrine is a World Heritage Site. | |Hiroshima HatsukaichiHatsukaichi, Hiroshima | |- | auxiliary : | Itsukushima Shrine | 4×3, single-storied, irimoya style, entrances on the gable ends, at the back connected to the haiden roof, hinoki cypress bark shingles. The shrine is a World Heritage Site. | |Hiroshima HatsukaichiHatsukaichi, Hiroshima | |- | 19 ridge tags with information on the building's construction are attached to the nomination. | Itsukushima Shrine | 45 ken long, single-storied, kirizuma style roof with hinoki cypress bark shingles. Extends from the entrance of Itsukushima Shrine past the Marōdo Shrine and the Asazaya to the purification hall of the main shrine. The shrine is a World Heritage Site. | |Hiroshima HatsukaichiHatsukaichi, Hiroshima | |- | | Itsukushima Shrine | 62 ken long, single-storied, kirizuma style gable at the eastern end and karahafu gable at the western end, covered with hinoki cypress bark shingles. The shrine is a World Heritage Site. | |Hiroshima HatsukaichiHatsukaichi, Hiroshima | |- | Four ridge tags with information on the building's construction and five are attached to the nomination. | | 9 bay wide structure consisting of five concatenated buildings under a single flowing roof, covered with hinoki cypress bark shingles, the front roof has five dormers with chidori hafu bargeboards | |Yamaguchi ShimonosekiShimonoseki, Yamaguchi | |- | Six ridge tags with information on the building's construction are attached to the nomination. | | 3×2, oldest extant example of the flowing roof style |group="ex"|name="nagare-zukuri-expl"}} covered with hinoki cypress bark shingles | |Kagawa SakaideSakaide, Kagawa | |- | The National Treasure structures of Aoi Aso Shrine are registered as a single National Treasure under one registration number. Only in the main treasure table of this article, the single entry is split in parts for readability.One ridge tag with information on the building's construction and five inscription boards (銘札) are attached to the nomination. | Aoi Aso Shrine | 3×2, flowing roof style with copper-tile roofing, connected to the south with the heiden via the corridor | |Kumamoto HitoyoshiHitoyoshi, Kumamoto | |- | | Aoi Aso Shrine | 1×1, single-storied, kirizuma style with copper-tile roofing, connects the honden in the north with the heiden in the south | |Kumamoto HitoyoshiHitoyoshi, Kumamoto | |- | | Aoi Aso Shrine | 5×3, single-storied, yosemune style |group="ex"|name="yosemune-zukuri-expl"}} on north side, connected to the haiden on the south side, thatched roof | |Kumamoto HitoyoshiHitoyoshi, Kumamoto | |- | | Aoi Aso Shrine | 7×3, single-storied, yosemune style with a 1 ken step canopy and a karahafu gable, thatched roof for the main building and copper-tile roof for the step canopy, connected in the north to the heiden | |Kumamoto HitoyoshiHitoyoshi, Kumamoto | |- | | Aoi Aso Shrine | 3×2 two-storied gate with entrance through the central bay, yosemune style, thatched roof | |Kumamoto HitoyoshiHitoyoshi, Kumamoto | |- | | Usa Shrine | hachiman style , that at the rear the . Together they form the main hall (honden). |group="ex"|name="hachiman-zukuri-expl"}}, where both "buildings" are single-storied kirizuma style with hinoki cypress bark shingles. The rear part, called , is 3×2, the front part, called is 3×1 with a 1 ken step canopy. | |Ōita UsaUsa, Ōita | |} See also *For an explanation of terms concerning Shinto, shrines and shrine architecture, see the glossary of Shinto. Notes Architecture General References Bibliography * * * * * * * External links Category:Shinto shrines Category:Lists of National Treasures of Japan Category:Religious architecture Category:Japanese architecture